Originally Posted by
gsa103
I found that heavily padded saddles (like the one you are on) are much worse for perineum pressure. You sink into the saddle and then the bulky padding makes contact in the wrong places. I ride a Selle SMP Dynamic, they're tricky to setup, and put a lot of pressure on your sit bones (but nowhere else). Find a shop that demo's the Specialized saddles, my guess is you'll be able to find a better saddle for not too much money (<$100).
How heavy are you? If you're under 200 lbs a saddle with less padding should also reduce the pressure. For me the trick was a minimally padded saddle, and a good pair of bib shorts (Assos). And lots more riding...
I'm 190 pounds. I've tried a few firm saddles, and they all just plain hurt - but none were wide enough. The Selle Royal Ellipse is fairly heavily padded, but has a very wide, very deep channel for the perineum, and is working fairly well. I am wondering if I can do better, though, and Specialized is at the top of my list to try. Thanks for the recommendation.